Lost in conceptualization? Seeking new insights by examining the function and context of parenting practices

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Parenting and parent-youth relations have long been recognized as central factors in development. Yet work is needed to gain a more nuanced understanding of these processes that accounts for the underlying function and the broader context of parenting. This symposium addresses these essential issues of conceptualization to guide interventions aimed at evoking positive family change.

The first study disaggregates dimensions of psychologically controlling parenting strategies that have distinct functions within a parent-youth relationship. In a meta-analysis of 380 studies, the authors conduct domain-specific analyses of particular dimensions of psychological control – overprotection, overcontrol, and emotional manipulation – to evaluate which dimensions are most impactful for youth adjustment.

The second study examines parents’ attachment as a mechanism linking interparental conflict and the use of power-assertive or inductive parenting practices. By understanding parents’ problematic parenting in the broader family context, we gain a deeper understanding of the function of parenting behavior.

The third study takes these questions of underlying function and context further by examining convergence and divergence in youth and parent perceptions of parent warmth. Using person-centered methods, the authors identified five subgroups of mother, father, and youth perceptions of mothers’ and fathers’ warmth and evaluated the role of interparental conflict as a contextual risk for greater discrepancies and poor parenting.

The fourth talk also examines discrepancies in parent and youth perceptions of youth exposure to community violence. Beyond exposure to community violence, discrepancies and concordance in parent and youth awareness of the violence exposure may also contribute to youth maladjustment.

Sub Unit

• Family Context & Processes

Chair

• Gregory M Fosco, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

Individual Presentations

• Exploration of the developmental value in parsing psychological control in associations with children’s maladjustment: A meta-analysis - Presenting Author: Morgan J Thompson, Auburn University; Cory Platts, University of Rochester; Carson R. Schmitz; Patrick Davies, University of Rochester

• Implicit and Explicit Representations of Romantic Attachment as Mechanisms Linking Interparental Conflict and Parental Discipline - Presenting Author: Cory Platts, University of Rochester; Melissa L Sturge-Apple, University of Rochester; Patrick Davies, University of Rochester

• Latent profiles of parent-child agreement and divergence in parental warmth and correlates with interparental conflict - Presenting Author: Carlie Sloan, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Stephanie T. Lanza, Penn State; Emily Lobraico; Mark E. Feinberg, Pennsylvania State University, University Park; Gregory M Fosco, Pennsylvania State University, University Park

• Systematic review of parent-youth discrepancies in reports of exposures to community violence - Presenting Author: Kajung Hong, San Diego State University; Nick Morelli, San Diego State University; Dalia Tabibian, San Diego State University/UC San Diego; David Straub, San Diego State University/UC San Diego; Miguel Villodas, San Diego State University